Machine for making rugs, carpets, and the like



Aug. 21, 1934. W, o 1,970,703

MACHINE FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS, AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR WA'L TEE L006 A TTORNEY Aug. 21, 1934. w oos 1,970,703

MACHINE FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS, AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 20, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 //v VE/VTOR WHL 775:? A 005 Aug. 21, 1934 w Logs 1,970,7Q3

MACHINE FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS, AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 11v VENTOR WALTER A 005 By W 5 A TTORNE Y w. LOOS 1,970,703

MACHINE FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS, AND THE LIKE Aug. 21, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 20, 1932 [NVENTOR WALTER Loos ATTORNEY w. LOOS 3,97%7693 MACHINE FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS, AND THE LIKE Aug (21, 1934.

Filed Sept. 20, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR WALTER L 003 Patented Aug. 21, 1934- UNITED v STATE-S,

MAKING BUGS, CARPETS, ANDTHELIKE FOR PATENT OFFICE Walter Loos, New York, N. Y., assignor to Hans Wickenhauser, South Norwalk, Conn.

Application September 20, 1932, Serial No. 633,957

4 Claims.

pile of the rug or carpet.

Another object is to provide an improved machine of simple and practical construction, the use of which will greatly facilitate the manufacturing of pile rugs and carpets and materially reduce the cost of production thereof.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the followingdetailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which showa preferred embodi- 0 ment of the inventive idea.

In the drawings: 4 Figure 1 is aside elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sec- 5 tion therethrough.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevation. Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing principally the foundation fabric" support locked below the needle bar and the, loop cutting mecha- 0 nism associated therewith.

Figures 5 and 6 are detailed sectional views of a loop holding device and control mechanism therefor, illustrating the parts in difierent positions of operation.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken substantial- 1y on the line '77 of Figure 6.

Figures 8, 9,10 and 11 are detailed sectional views illustrating successive positions of the loop holding device and one of the relative tubular needles employed in the machine.

Flgure 12 is a fragmentary section through a finished rug or carpet, and

Figure 13 is a fragmentary plan view of the under surface of 'the foundation fabric of the rug or carpet after the tufts have been stitched thereon. I

It has heretofore been the practice to weave, on looms, rugs and carpets of a type similar to the one included in the present invention and, as

is well known, the time consumed in this weavmachine wherein, instead of weaving the article,

a plurality of tubular needles are employed to simultaneously stitch into a foundation fabric a like number of rows of tufts which constitute the pile, the foundation fabric being held in a fixed position while the loops are being formed and being mechanically moved or advanced as said tubular needles are momentarily withdrawn from,

the fabric, thereby greatly decreasing the time required to form any given area of pile surface and rendering it possible to make rugs and carpets of various widths on the same machine and by a single run of the foundation fabric in one direction through the machine.

Briefly, the machine is shownas comprising a substantially rectangular frame 15 into the front end of which (the left side of Figure 1) is fed a continuous length of foundation fabric 16 U of any desired material, the fabric being first led over a guide roller 17 and thence downwardly and around a tension roller 18 supported in the frame, said roller carrying on its shaft a grooved disc 19 having a weight 20 suspended therefrom to produce the desired tension. The fabric then passes upwardly and over another guide roller 21 from which it is fed ina horizontally rearward direction beneath a plurality of tubular needles 22 arranged in a row across the machine and adapted to be operated to simultaneously form contiguous rows of tufts in the foundation fabric. The latter is fed through the machine in a single direction by the intermittent or step by step movement of the feed roller 23 journalled in the frame 15 rearwardly of the tubular needles, the roller 23 coming to rest each time the tubular needles are passed through the fabric 16 to form the loops constituting the tufts. As said loops are made and pass from beneath the tubular needles 22 a cutting mechanism generally indicated by the numeral 24 becomes operative to cut the endsof the loops and thus form the pile of the rug or carpet. Following the cutting operation the finished article is guided over a roller 25 andthence downwardly over an inclined platform 26 from whence it is discharged at the rearof the machine.

The means for driving the various parts of the machine include a shaft 27 extending across the machine and mounted in suitable bearings 28 carried at the upper ends of-standards 29 secured to opposite sides of the frame of the machine. The shaft 27 carries a sprocket 30 around which passes a drive chain 31 connected to any suitable source of power (not shown). The rotation dle bar 32 which supports the tubular needles 22 and also drives, through a chain 33, a shaft 34 mounted in suitable bearings at the front of the frame and adjacent one side thereof. 0n the shaft 34 is a sprocket 35 engaged bya chain 39 which drives a chain 40 that is operatively connected to the shaft 41 of the cutting device 24. Also, in a manner to specifically appear in the course of the description, the means for vertical- 1y reciprocating the needle bar is utilized to impart an intermittent rotary movement to the feed roller 23 to thereby advance the foundation fabric through the machine in a step by step movement. The drives for the various elements of the machine having been briefiyreferred to, the construction and operation of the needle bar and its associated elements will now be described.

At each end of the shaft 27 and exteriorly of the standards 29, said shaft carries a disc 42 to which is connected one end of a crank arm 43, the other end of which is journalled to a guide 44 mounted on the adjacent standard 29 and constituting a part of a vertically reciprocating carriage that supports the needle bar 32. The guides 44 on the standards 29 are connected by a beam 45 in the form of an angle iron and this beam supports a strip 46 to which the needle bar 32 is detachably secured. Thus when the discs 42 are rotated by the shaft 27 a vertical reciprocat-. ing motion will be imparted to the tubular needles 22 and cause them to pass back and forth is controlled by the reciprocation of the carriage which includes the guides 44. To this end one of said guides has connected thereto a chain 49 which extends upwardly from a guide and over a small sprocket 50, and from thence passes over another sprocket51 loosely carried by the shaft of the roller 48 at the rear of the machine, the opposite end of the chain 49 being connected to a retractile spring 52. Fixed to the end of the roller 48 adjacent the sprocket 51 is a ratchet 53 which is adapted to be engaged by a pawl 54 on said sprocket so that as a pull is exerted upon the chain 49 by the downward movement of the needle carriage the pawl 54 will operate to turn the roller 48 in an anti-clockwise direction and thus feed the yarns passing thereover to the tubular needles. -During this downward movement the spring 52 is expanded and upon the upward movement of the carriage such spring will take up the slack in the chain 49 and the pawl '54 idle over the ratchet 53.

It is desirable during the operation of the tubular needles 22 and the consequent passage back and forth through the fabric 16 to guide said fabric at the point where the same passes beneath the tubular needles and to maintain the fabric in a horizontal plane against the tendency of the tubular needles to depress and lift the same. this end the fabric is passed over a support 55 in the form of an angle iron located directly below the row of tubular needles and provided with a series of guide slots '56 each of which is adapted to receive one of the tubular needles in the lowered position thereof. The upper surface of the fabric 16 is engaged, adjacent the forward end of the support 55, by a guide 5'7 which rests upon the fabric and is carried by the arms 58 attached to the frame of the machine. Rearwardly of the row of tubular needles 22 is a presser bar 59 having a slight vertical movement so as to engage and disengage the fabric. This bar has connected thereto one or more vertical rods 60 and the upper ends of these rods are extended through openings in a plate 61 secured to the beam 45. Adjustable nuts 62 are carried by the rods 60 above the plate 61 so that as the latter approaches the limit of its upward movement with the beam 45 and the guides 44, the same will lift the rods 60 and thus raise the presser bar 59 from engagement with the fabric, this action occurring after the tubular needles 22 have passed upwardly be-.

yond the fabric. The bar 59 is carried by one or more curved arms 63 which extend rearwardly of the machine and are secured to a rocker shaft 64 journalled on the frame 15. Means are provided in conjunction with the arm 63 for regulating the amount of pressure of the bar 59 upon the fabric and, for this purpose, there is rockingly mounted upon the shaft 64 a lever 65 for each of said arms 63. Pivoted to an intermediate portion of each arm 63, as at 66, is a rod 6'7 which extends rearwardly and through the lever 65. An abutment 68 is mounted on said rod 67 and interposed between said abutment and the lever is a coil spring 69 the tension of which is regulated by an adjustment of the lever 65 along said rod. For the purpose of adjusting the levers 65 the same are connected to a handle 70 pivoted on the end of the shaft 64 and said handle is provided with a latch 71 to retain the same in various adjusted positions. The bars 63 may be utilized to support a guide '72 which extends across the machine and through which the yarns 47 pass on their way to the tubular needles 22.

'I'hemeansforintermittentlyoperating the feed roller 23 will now be described. At one end of the roller 23 there is secured upon the shaft thereof a ratchet 73 adapted to be engaged by a pawl 74 carried by an arm 75 loosely mounted upon said shaft. Said arm is connected by a link 76 to the adjacent crank 43 which is longitudinally slotted as at 7'7 to receive one end of said link. With the disc 42 to which the crank 43 is connected rotating in the direction of the arrow as indicated in Figure 1, it will be apparent that as the upper end of the crank swings to the left a pull will be exerted upon the link 76 which will cause the pawl 74 to step the roller 23 in an anti-clockwise direction to thereby move the rug or carpet being made a slight distance toward the rear of the machine. This movement advances the fabric 16 with respect to the tubular needles 22 which at this time are moving downwardly toward the fabric preparatory to passing therethrough. During the upward movement of the tubular needles, after having formed loops in the fabric, the swing of the crank 43 to the right will, through the link '76, cause the pawl 74 to idle over the ratchet '73 and in order to prevent any possible clockwise movement of said ratchet during this interval a second pawl '78 mounted upon the frame 15 is engaged with said ratchet.

- shaft 38. Said mechanism includes a number of units arranged at suitably spaced intervals on said shaft, two of said units being indicated in Figure 3. By reference to the latter figureand .to Figures 5 and '7 the specific construction of one of the units is illustrated. It will be seen that a beam 80 is extended between and secured to the standards 29 to form a support for the various units. The fabric supporting member 55, which also extends between said standards, is secured to said beam. In the space between the depending portion of said member and the beam there is supported, for rectilinear movement therein, the loop-holding device which consists of a horizontal bar 81 of a length at least equal to that of the row of tubular needles 22. For each tubular needle, the bar is provided with a hook 82 which is adapted to engage the last-formed loop of the associated tubular needle and shift the same in the direction of travel of the fabric, as indicated in Figures 5 and 9, so as to move the loop out of the path of the tubular needle during the formation of a next succeeding loop. At each point where a control unit for the holding device is situated, the bar 81 is provided with a depending arm 83 which is operatively connected to said unit. Since the construction and operation of each control unit is identical, a description of one will suffice.

Referring more particularly to Figures5 to '7 89 and 90 both of which are 'carried by the lower extremity of the associated arm 83 of the loop holding device. The slot and pins combine to form a guide for the horizontal movements of the holding device which occur during one cycle of operation thereof, the upward vertical movement of said cycle being accomplished by the operation of the slide 8'7 while the downward vertical movement of the holding device is effected by a spring 91 connecting the shaft 38 with the bar 81 (see Figure 3) and operating to pull said bar downwardly as the slide 8'7 is lowered. The horizontal movement of the bar 81 in the direction of travel of the fabric is accomplished by means of the spring 92 connecting the plate 84 with the pin 90, the bar being shown in Figure 5 at the termination of this movement from right to left as shown in said figure. It is during this movement that the hook 82 engages the loop just formed by the tubular needle 22 and as the tubular needle is moving upwardly. When the bar 81 reaches the position shown in Figure 5 it remains there until the point 93 of the cam 94 on the shaft 38, which is rotating in a clockwise direction, passes the verticaland starts its downward arc to the right. It' is at this time that the spring 91 becomes effective to exert a downward pull upon the bar 81 with the result that the slide 8'7 also moves downwardly, following the contour of said cam 94. After reaching the lower extremity of this downward movement a trip arm 95 on the shaft 38 contacts the pin 89 and thereby shifts the bar 81 to the right so that it will assume the position shown in Figure 6, this movement expanding the spring 92 so that it will become effective to accomplish the other horizontal movement first mentioned. At the extreme right hand position of the bar 81 the pin 89 engages a notch in a latch 96 which is yieldably held in a raised position by means of a small spring 9'7. The engagement of the latch with said pins retains the bar 81 in its right hand position until the free end of the latch engages the lower edge of the beam 80 as the slide 8'7 moves upwardly following the shift of the bar 81 to the right. This upward movement begins as the cam 94 reaches the position shown in Figure 6. When the latch 96 is depressed against the action of the spring 97 by contactwith the beam 80, it disengages itself from the pin 89 and the spring 92 thereupon becomes effective to shift the bar 81 to the left, thus completing the sequence of operation.

The rectilinear movements of the bar 81 are more clearly illustrated in Figures 8 to 11 and by reference to Figure 8 it will be noted that said bar has terminated its upward vertical movement 100 under the influence of the cam 94 which is oper- Lated to raise the slide 8'7. At this time the tubular needle 22 isv moving upwardly to complete the formation of the loop and is able to pass through the fabric. The bar 81 is now shifted to the left and its hook engages the loop '79 just completed to shift the same laterally with respect .to the tubular needle and in the direction of travel of the fabric, as shown in Figure 9. When the parts are in the position of the latter figure the tubular needle 22 is at the upper end of its movement and the crank 43 now becomes effective to rock the arm 75 and thus cause a movement of the feed roller 23 to advance the fabric preparatory, to the formation of the next succeeding loop. The tubular needle 22 now descends and passes through the fabric as shown in Figure 10 and during this movement the stranded yarn 4'7 is fed to the tubular needle by the pull exerted upon the chain 49 as previously described. The tubular needle completes its descent and then starts upwardly as shown in Figure 11 and it is during this movement that the spring 91 becomes effective to pull the bar 81 downward and disengage the hook 82 from the loop, the lower left hand position of said bar being shown in dotted lines in Figure 11. The shift to the right of the bar 81 in its lower position occurs immediately afterwards and then said bar is elevated in its right hand position as shown in full lines in Figure 11 by the action of the cam 94 which raises the slide 8'7. Thus the bar 81 follows the tubular needle 22 upwardly until said bar has reached its uppermost position at which time the latch 96 releases the pin 89 and the spring 92 then operates to shift the bar to the left.

As each tuft is formed by one of the tubular needles 22 the loops of said tuft advance longitudinally in the slot 56 in which it is being formed and immediately after leaving said slot the cutting mechanism 24 becomes effective to sever said loops. This mechanism comprises an upper stationary toothed bar 97 and a movable lower bar 98, both of said bars being mounted above the shaft 41 and the bar 98 being provided with a pin 99 which engages in a cam 100 mounted on said shaft so that as the latter is rotated the bar 98 is shifted longitudinally of the bar 9'7 to cause the teeth of said bar to cooperate to out the loops. The cutting device is supported on the frame of 1m vertically adjustable so as'to regulate the height of the pile formed when the bights of the loops are severed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tufting machine for making carpets, rugs and the like, a needle-carrying bar operable to pass needles through a foundation fabric to form a series of tufts each consisting of a plurality of loops, means to feed said fabric to said bar, a loop holding device having a rectilinear motion, during which the formed loops of said tufts are held while succeeding loops are formed, a slide supporting said device for movement in a direction transverse to that of the travel of said fabric, means operable upon the termination of the movement in said transverse direction to move said device in a different direction, and a latch carried by said slide for engagement with said device and actuated at the end of said transverse movement to render operative the last-named means.

2. In a tufting machine for making carpets, rugs and the like, a needle-carrying bar operable to pass needles through a foundation fabric to form a series of tufts each consisting of a plurality of loops, means to feed said fabric to said bar, a loop holding device having a rectilinear motion, during which the formed loops of said tufts are held while succeeding loops are formed, a control mechanism for said holding device including a slide member supporting said device and relative toawhich the latter has movements in directions longitudinal to the direction of movement of said fabric, and means to move said slide member in directions transverse to the last-named directions.

3. In a tufting machine for making carpets, rugs and the like, a needle-carrying bar operable to pass needles. through a foundation fabric to form 1,970,703 the machine by means of plates 101'which are a series of tufts each consisting of a plurality of loops, means to feed said fabric to said bar, a loop holding device having a rectilinear motion, during which the formed loops of said tufts are held while succeeding loops are formed, a control mechanism for said holding device including a slide member supporting said device and relative to which the latter has movements in directions longitudinal to the direction of movement of said fabric, means to move said slide member in directions transverse to the last-named directions, and a latch carried by said slide member and engaging said device during a movement in one of the latter directions, said latch being operable to release said device at the termination of the last named movement.

4. In a tufting machine for making carpets, rugs and the like, a needle-carrying bar operable to pass needles through a foundation fabric to form a series oftufts each consisting of a plurality of loops, means to feed said fabric to said bar, a loop holding device having a rectilinear motion, during which the formed loops of said tufts are held while succeeding loops are formed, a control mechanism for said holding device including a slide member supporting said device and relative to which the latter has movements in directions longitudinal to the direction of movement of said fabric, a latch carried by said slide member and engaging said device during a movement in a direction transverse to said longitudinal movements,-said latch being operable to release said device at the termination of the last-named movement, and spring means for moving said device in one of its longitudinal directions when said device is released by said latch.

WALTER L005. 

